There are still three weeks left in the NFL season, but it's never too early to start looking ahead to the NFL Draft, especially for teams already eliminated from playoff contention. As we enter Week 15, nine teams have nothing left to play for except draft positioning. The New York Giants (2-11) currently hold the No. 1 pick with the Las Vegas Raiders (2-11) and Tennessee Titans (2-11) right behind them.
The odds are that one of those three teams will be holding the top selection by the time the regular season is complete. Two of them, New York and Tennessee, both drafted rookie quarterbacks with the hope they'll turn their respective franchise's fortunes around. So, the argument could be made that they don't necessarily need to use the top pick this coming spring and could be in a position to sell it to the highest bidder. There will be plenty of bidders and some may be unexpected.
Indianapolis Colts
Just entering Week 14 fans were convinced the Colts would be a playoff team and a revival of the franchise was being led by the unlikely resurrection of QB Daniel Jones' career. That hope came crashing down on Sunday when Jones tore his Achilles and will now undergo season-ending surgery.
From the top of the AFC South Division to signing retired QB Philip Rivers to the practice squad, Indianapolis has seen its season make a complete 180 and its front office will have to do the same with its offseason priorities. There's no guarantee Jones will return to his incredible form when he recovers or if he'll even return in time for the start of the 2026 campaign. Backup Anthony Richardson is dealing with his own ailments and hasn't exactly been chummy with Indy's management.
Indianapolis gave its 2026 first-round pick to the New York Jets when it acquired Sauce Gardner ahead of the deadline. It may take dealing next year's first and a handful of other picks to entice New York or Las Vegas to part with such a valuable selection. But with a rookie QB talent like Fernando Mendoza (Indiana connection) projected to go first overall, the Colts should be thinking about the long-term rather than attempting to piecemeal its way back to playoff contention.
Arizona Cardinals
The Kyler Murray era in the desert is all but certain to come to an end after this year, especially with head coach Jonathan Gannon sitting on a scorching hot seat. If the pair depart Glendale, the Cardinals will need to draft their signal caller of the future once a new coach is hired.
Arizona owns the No. 8 pick currently and may move up a few spots with a three-game losing streak to close out the year. There won't be any free agent passers worth signing to jump start the Cardinals' competitive fortunes and, really, the team is in need of a full on rebuild. New York would certainly move back 5-6 spots and still be able to snag a high-rated offensive lineman while bagging a few extra late-round picks. It'll be worth the investment for Arizona to just start over.
Miami Dolphins
Injury history and poor performance spells the end of Tua Tagovailoa's tenure in South Beach. Add that to the likely dismissal of head coach Mike McDaniel and Miami will need to reboot things as well. The Dolphins slid to the No. 12 pick after a Week 14 win over the Jets, so they'd be limited in their options to find a fresh QB.
Miami's front office will need to look inward and decide whether it's worth going another year with Tagovailoa as it's primary option and then hoping Zach Wilson and Quinn Ewers can be serviceable if the 27-year-old's concussion history catches up with him. There's a future to consider here and a new coaching regime that may want to take a new approach to the offense. Making a bold move to draft a top rookie passer should be the first step in that process.